"Crucifixion,"
which
is
also
variably
titled
"Christ
on
the
Cross,"
was
submitted
by
Goya
to
the
Royal
Academy
with
his
application.
Having
been
turned
down
before,
it
is
believed
that
through
the
influence
of
Francisco
Bayeu
that
Goya
was
accepted
this
last
time.
The
image
itself
is
considered
to
be
a
combination of
similar
images
previously
painted
by
Diego
Velazquez
and
Anton
Mengs.

This
crucifixion
scene,
which
was
Goya's
submission
to
the
Royal
Academy,
reveals
his
shrewd
business
instincts,
and
the
lengths
to
which
eh
was
prepared
to
go
in
order
to
secure
his
future.
It
effectively
combined
the
achievements
of
Spain's greatest
painter,
Velazquez,
with
the
acclaimed
style
of
Goya's
most
distinguished
contemporary,
Anton
Mengs.
Through
this
assimilation
of
styles,
Goya
hoped
to
win
approval
of
the
academicians
and
attract
the
interest
of
potential
patrons.
However,
Goya's
crucifixion
does
not compare
well
with
its
model,
Velazquez'
great
work.
There
is
something
distasteful
in
the
contrast
between
Velazquez'
portrayal
of
Christ
as
the
object
of
contemplation
and
devotion,
and
Goya's
dramatic
creation,
which,
though
beautifully
painted,
was
executed
as
a showpiece."

Patricia
Wright, Eyewitness
Art:
Goya, page
16,
Dorling
Kindersley
Books,
1993

It
is
without
doubt
the
worst
painting
he
ever
did. -
Robert
Hughes,
from
his
book Goya,
page
99

In
compensation
for
his
work
[at
the
Royal
Tapestry
Factory],
Goya
was
elected
a
member
of
the
Royal
Academy
of
Fine
Arts
of
San
Fernando.
In
accordance
with
its
rules,
he
presented
to
the
Academy
the
painting
Crucifixion,
a
work that
unjustly
earned
abundant
adverse
criticism.
Actually,
Goya
had
intended
to
create
a
work
strictly
within
academic
canons,
and
had
made
use
of
an
example
by
Bayeu,
itself
a
servile
transcription
of
a
Mengs
Crucifixion.
However,
even
in this
effort
Goya
not
only
surpassed
those
who
were,
academically
speaking,
his
acknowledged
masters,
but
he
successfully
added
an
original
expressiveness
to
the
head
of
Christ,
in
perfect
accord
with
the
best
of
his
own
style.

José
Gudiol, Goya,
published
by
Abrams
1985,
pages
16-17